Cloudy Skies did not return to Alexandria until near nightfall. Her mission, though important, felt hopelessly mundane. Without knowing when Lonely Day and the other ponies would return from Philadelphia, and with no way to call and tell them, it was her job to find a satellite phone, make it work, then report on what they had learned.
It would’ve been far worse than boring to travel off on her own when Blacklight was putting herself into danger with all her other friends. Except Cloudy Skies had company, a pony who might very well turn on her at any moment. She didn’t hold a gun to the pony; that wouldn’t have been a very friendly way to do things. Rather, she disposed of all their weapons, and made it a point to avoid any location where True Sight might find new ones. She had bound the other pony’s wings, though that had been more Blacklight's idea. That way at least she would know she couldn’t change her mind and return to her master easily. Nothing else; no bindings on her hooves or leashes or weapons. Aside from not being able to fly away, she was just as free as Cloudy Skies.
They talked a great deal; much more than she had expected. Sight wanted to know about how living on Earth had been, really know. She wanted to know what Sky liked to do. She wanted to know what made living in Alexandria so great, and when winter was scheduled. Sky answered every question, as well as responding with some of her own. She learned that Sight was from Equestria itself, and that she had left her family behind forever to come to Earth. She couldn’t easily explain what had driven her to do it, or much at all from the last several years of her life. Whenever she tried, she just got a distant, sad look on her face.
That was okay with Sky. She knew that look all too well, and knew from personal experience pressuring her to talk wasn’t the way to go. She would just change the subject. She learned about the sort of games young ponies played in Equestria, learned they had fantasy novels just like on Earth. She learned Sight’s favorite food was apparently some huge species of moth, and she had missed it terribly when coming to Earth but been too afraid to say so. Sky didn’t recognize it, but she promised the batpony to help her find them if they existed. They probably didn’t, but it would be worth a shot.
Eventually she found a survival store, along with a pack of working batteries. She had never been that good with technology, so it took some time to get the phone working. Over an hour, actually. At least there were no complicated subscriptions to enroll in or accounts to make: Mystic Rune had removed all of that. Eventually she was sitting outside in the sun, holding still as the phone rang and rang. She didn’t remember anypony’s number, so she had just called the operator, knowing well that it redirected to Rune’s personal phone.
He answered. “Hello? I don’t really have time to talk right now, if you could call back tomorrow.”
“Wait, Rune! It’s me, Sky!”
Pause. He sounded breathless when he answered. “Cloudy Skies? Thank God you’re safe! Where are you? Riley said she didn’t know, and we weren’t sure-”
“I’m a few hours away. Had to drive to this city called Champaign to find a specialty store with one of these weird phone things of the right brand.” She glanced briefly at Sight, who had moved closer and was watching with interest. “Have you got to Alexandria yet? Or are you still on your way?”
He chuckled. “We’re back in Alexandria. Well, what’s left of it. Alex pretty thoroughly destroyed this library. Most of the rest of it is intact, though.”
The phone was on speaker, so she wasn’t all that surprised to hear Sight shout from beside her. She wasn’t even upset. “Is Night Speaker alive? Did it-”
“We got the bastard,” Joseph interrupted, voice flat. “Abrams shot him right in the head. The rest of us took care of the smoke monster inside him. They’re both gone. It’s safe to come back.”
Cloudy Skies frowned. The pony on the other end sounded like Mystic Rune, but Sight had explained that it was easy for Odium to force the controlled to act like themselves. That had always been part of his power. She covered the microphone with a hoof. “How do we know he’s telling the truth?”
“Have him put on the changeling. Master couldn’t control them, we all knew it.”
She did. Within ten minutes, they were on the road again, headed back to Alexandria. They hardly spoke during the drive back.
Sky passed through the center of town on her way to the hospital, passing through the wreckage of the battle. She saw one of the heavy armored vehicles, ripped to pieces, and the damage it had done to the library. Rune hadn’t overstated the damage. The generators were running and the lights were on in the hospital as she headed inside.
Whiplash met her at the door with an HPI rifle held in her glowing grip, prosthetic firm on her forehead. “Hey, Whiplash!” Sky nodded approvingly at the prosthetic. “You figured it out!”
“Yeah.” She pointed the gun towards Sight. “She’s just walking around? Wasn’t she their second-in-command?” She drew back the bolt. “I’ll give Adrian a call so we can bring her in.”
The pony beside her retreated a pace, whimpering. Sky felt anger boiling in her chest, and she moved to block the pony. “Hold on, Whiplash. True Sight has been cooperative since we caught her. She told us things. She’s never done anything that wasn’t helpful, never tried to hurt me or get away. She’s not to blame for what she did. She didn’t have a choice. Neither did any of the others. You ought to know that.”
Whiplash glared at her, though she lowered the gun. “It’d be mostly for her own good,” she eventually said, gesturing for Sky to move closer. She did, and the unicorn whispered in her ear. “One of the other Equestrians tried to kill himself a few hours ago. We got him down in time, but… we’ve got all of them in the psychiatric cells for evaluation until we’re sure.”
“Oh.” Sky glanced back at her new batpony friend, then shook her head. “I’ll keep an eye on her, but I don’t think that’ll happen.” She forced a smile, and raised her voice to make sure the batpony could hear. “True Sight is feeling much better now. She wouldn’t do something like that, would she?”
The pony nodded, though she seemed to grow more nervous as Sky returned to stand before her, as though a few seconds of private conversation had spoiled their relationship of trust. Sky ignored her retreat for once and gripped the rope in her teeth, tugging the knot free. It fell to the ground in coils, pooling about her hooves. “If Odium’s really gone, we don’t need that anymore.”
“N-No… I would like to see my friends, though. If… if it’s okay with you, Sky. The ones who made it.” She looked down, whimpering. “You didn’t kill anyone else, did you?”
“No.” Whiplash tossed the gun over her shoulder, and seemed relieved not to be levitating it anymore. “A few of ‘em got pretty beat up, but Alex was careful not to kill any. Bruises, a few broken bones, nothing severe. Our doctor’s patched the hurt ones up as best he can. They’re in the same wing with that stallion Adrian shot a few days ago.” She turned, gesturing with her tail. “I’ll show you.”
She did. Even though Sky insisted she didn’t have to go into confinement, True Sight insisted she should go see her fellow cultists. She was fairly sure they would still see her as a leader, with the monster they served finally gone. She had been right. Sky followed the batpony as she urged them to cooperate, repeated Sky’s promises from earlier that they would be treated well and not punished for anything they had done while controlled by Odium. The captured ponies practically melted at her words.
“I’m sorry we locked them up,” Sky said, as Sight prepared to climb into one of the padded cells with several of the other flying ponies. “You don’t have to go in there. I know you won’t try to hurt yourself.”
“I won’t,” she repeated. “But I want to make sure they don’t. I’ll try to convince them. In the morning, you let out the ponies I ask for, okay?”
Sky agreed, though Whiplash looked furious. Somehow, she thought the unicorn had other reasons for wanting the ponies locked up.
All the ponies Cloudy Skies was excited about seeing again were gathered into a room on the second floor, eating MREs and speaking in hushed voices. “Hi.” She felt the exhaustion of her day crashing down on her then, but she fought it off. Long enough to end up in a huge hug between herself and Blacklight and Rune and Wanderlust. Even Whiplash there, at the end. Olive only said hello, working as he was at Day’s side. He was the only one in the room (besides Whiplash) who didn’t have a plate of something.
When the hug finally ended, Sky made her way past the group to look down at the filly resting in bed. Day looked the worse for wear; burns covered her face, particularly around her eyes and mouth. She looked strangely thin, and her ragged breaths came unsteadily. Sky’s best friend looked worse than anypony Sky had ever seen. “How is she?”
Olive shook his head. “No telling. She was barely alive when I brought her in. Whatever that thing did really tore her apart. No telling when she’ll wake up. Or if.” He reached over to the desk, lifting a light leatherbound book from it and tossing it onto a bare part of the bed near her. “Apparently she wanted you to have this if anything happened. Figure you should probably take it now.”
Sky looked, feeling a sudden chill as she realized what it was. Lonely Day’s journal. “No.” She shoved it away, pushing it near Day’s leg. “She’s still alive, right? I’m not taking that if she’s still alive.” She fought back the tears, though only barely. Her voice still cracked.
Olive looked like he was going to insist, but Mystic Rune stepped in, levitating the book off the bed and back to the little table. “She doesn’t have to take it now.”
“Maybe not. But Alex might not ever wake up. That thing might’ve actually been able to kill her. She looks like she’s getting worse, no matter what I fucking do!” He slammed one hoof down with enough force to shatter a tile, huffing and puffing like a horse about to charge.
“We should get out,” she suggested, and they did. Rune headed off with Whiplash to keep an eye on the prisoners, while a limping and bandaged Wanderlust came with her to a room a few doors down the hall, lit only by moonlight streaming through the window. They sat together there in the empty room, staring up at the night.
Neither of them spoke, not for what felt like hours. They didn’t really need to. It wasn’t conversation they wanted after watching their city destroyed. Sky rested her shoulder on Wanderlust’s, and he wrapped his wing around her in turn. She shivered, whimpered, and cried. So did he.
Maybe she slept, maybe he did. It was hard to say for sure.
Eventually she must’ve woke, because she remembered asking: “Are you still going to leave soon?”
“No.” Wanderlust shook his head vigorously. “Not soon.” He met her eyes. Neither of them looked away. “Maybe not ever. I’ll have to see if anything keeps me. Like… like having somepony I care about.”
She chuckled, though she didn’t want to. “Somepony? I thought you thought those words were silly.”
“I do.” He nuzzled her. “But the somepony doesn’t. If silly words are what it takes, that’s pretty cheap.” His face darkened, and he turned away again. “Small price to pay. Compared to… to…”
Sky embraced him again, holding him as tightly as she could. “Don’t pay anything, Wanderlust. I don’t want you to change. Don’t compare me to a monster.”
“Right… you’re right.” He sat up, smiling weakly. “I do mean it, though. I’ll be sticking around for the foreseeable future. Besides.” He tossed his shoulders vaguely towards the window. “It’s not like there aren’t other ways for ponies to learn about the satellite phones. Those radio ponies talk about it now. We’ve got our own local broadcast, and Joseph’s rerouting the operator calls. I call that enough for a little while. I can afford to take some time off.” He met her eyes again. “That is, if you’ll spend some of it with me.”
Sky considered that a long time. She thought about Lainey, and how she would shiver and convulse at a man’s touch. She couldn’t feel it, couldn’t even hear a man’s voice without thinking of the barn behind her house, or the cellar she had been locked in. Cloudy Skies wouldn't live in Lainey's hell for another second, but maybe Lainey Park could come visit Sky's paradise.
“I’d like that.”
The Implications from that last couple of paragraphs about Sky.....
static3.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/Naw+take+this+_f74029be1b2b215ec69f591cf1875c65.gif Just what the hell happened in her past!?
Huzzah! Batponies confirmed omnivores! And Sky and Wander/Adrian's relationship is getting ready to move to the next level!
On more concerning topics, Alex seemed to have gone all out on the ponies before she burned out and crashed. I really hope she recovered. And that last paragraph... wow... just wow...
The more I hear about Lainey Park the happier I am for Cloudy Skies.
Nooo Alex get better!
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Nice.
Also, poor Lainey.
I wonder when Joseph is going to learn that Moriah's pregnant.
6385184 Ya that is a depressing thought which makes it all the more bittersweet
Something tells me that the Equestrian... maroons, that's the right word... will find that they have a purpose. Probably not one that they ever wanted but there is no doubt that their presence on Earth will make a lot of things easier. Consider it a way to be redeemed for having been a tool of evil.
As for Alex? Something tells me that she has gone on a voyage and she won't be waking up until she finishes that voyage and reaches the destination where she needs to be.
Yay! All is well, and our heroes made it, and the equestrians might end up a set of good allies, and...
...GODDAMMIT LONELY ALEX ARCHIVE DAY DON'T YOU DIE ON US NOW.
Quick, everyone, think about humans vigorously.
POKES the author. I LIVE in Champaign, and I doubt she would have to hit a specialty store. Maybe the army surplus or the best buy we got in town but I really doubt she would need to find a specialty store like that. Also the army surplus is in the middle to south downtown On Neil ST a little before it diverges into Neil/walnut. The Best Buy is located north Prospect past I74. But considering you probably don't live in Illinois, I forgive you.
6385247
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Oh man, regardless of all the material and personal wreckage, that was beautiful. Sky so deserves this.
You know, the ex-cultist original model Equestrians that Alexandria gets out of this crisis might be a very useful addition to the developing settlement assuming they're properly cooperative. Potential citizens who come as is with lifetimes' worth of knowledge of how to use their magic, weather, and earth magic skills? Yes, please. Talk about skipping a few steps in booting up a brand new civilization from scratch.
Hahaha, flashbacks to that fanart series of AJ and her giant moth issues.
Heh. Alexander destroyed his/her own library this time around.
Interesting, I wonder if the crisis was enough to push Moriah through into picking up the skills through sheer necessity.
Ooooo. On the other hand, these new potential citizens come with their own set of issues.
Nice to see Sight stepping up so quickly in taking care of them.
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Shesh, Alex, stop getting so beat up so much! Just because you are immortal doesn't mean you need to really work the skill.
I'm oddly curious about the mentioned radio ponies, select broadcasts could make for an interesting fic or for interludes in a fic.
Welcome to paradise, Lainey.
6385302
In all fairness, Sky seems... unique in terms of mentality. Specialty store might just be her manner of reference to a store that sells satellite phones.
6385247 pre06.deviantart.net/54c1/th/pre/i/2012/344/e/9/get_it_off_by_otakuap-d5nlliu.jpg
Oh, I just realized that the library of Alexandria was destroyed! I always love the historical references that get put into your stories, all the little details are the things that I love the most about your stories.
I knew Cloudy was a supremely broken individual, but damn. If there's any justice to be found, whatever asshole did that to her will come back as a goat.
Not that I have anything against goats.
Also, that picture makes me sad in my sad places. Poor Alex!
6385411 And this will be the sound they make when they return.
6385293 Pretty soon, Lonely Day is going to be driving a bulldozer through a pile of rubble, giant cigar in her mouth.
QUICKLY!
OUR GODDESS HUNGERS!
MORE BOOKS FOR THE BOOK GODDESS!
MORE BOOKS FOR THE BOOK THRONE!
Nice to see something going right for Moriah at last. She finally figured out how to use magic with the prosthetic horn! And she actually decided to join in their group hug! (I don't know why that makes me so unreasonably happy.)
I hope there's a happier end coming for Alex than whatever ascension kind of stuff is likely to happen if she actually dies here, and that she'll wake up as Alex and not Archive.
At least Cloudy seems to be getting a happy ending, even if it has to be contrasted with a horrific past.
6385391
The physical building was wrecked, but the value of a library is its contents. Alex saved the library! No repeat of the burning of the Great Library just yet.
6385293 I do believe in humans, I do I do.
I can't help but think that Luna and Celestia had accounted for someone like Odium getting to earth. The fact that their agents used encryption when there was pretty much no-one on earth to their knowledge that could work with it, the fact that they made Alex/Lonely immortal and the Archive. The fact that they gave Alex a library that only her soul could open. All this makes me think they had planned for something such as Odium to occur on earth. This makes me think that whatever books were lost by Odium's fire were not the sole copies of those texts... or that those texts had some sort of reconstitute-from-ash spell woven into them. It would be foolish after all for their only to be one set of knowledge for all of earth to make use of. They HAD to have known this and planned as best they could on the matter.
I can't help but think by the end of this, Alex is going to get her horns and wings.
Hmm... I wonder if placing Alex in direct contact with the earth, rather than a bed in a hospital, would help her heal.
That bit with Cloudy Skies at the end make me think very dark things about her childhood. Something worse than a "merely" abusive father...
6385293
Does thinking about how much I want to watch them all burn count?
Wanderlust gets +2 to insight, and levels up.
6385639
Lonely Day has left the library. The, uh, library has been... saved?
Ooh, that's not good. There's plenty of positives here, from the cultists to the couple to Moriah's magic, but the heart of their community is currently on a pacemaker and doesn't look to be getting any better. I'm not sure what it will take to get Alex back on her hooves. I just hope there's something, even if it's just time.
A powerful scene that it was, using Alex's journal as a symbol of her leadership and giving it to Sky.
I think it's the first time I find Oliver making an interesting action, not even in his own chapters he felt interesting (though they gave the background to appreciate how he lost his composure, however briefly).
And we saw at last how Lainey "Cloudy Skies" Park is finally settling herself. I love how in the end accepting her time as human, even to herself only, means she isn't using being a magical pony as an escapism anymore, because she's allowing herself to be truly happy.
Hmmmm... I'm guessing that as the fledgling goddess / alicorn of Humanity, she needs a quick injection of faith in human survival. It brings to mind a snippet of earlier conversation...
Or maybe she's getting thinner and weaker because her body is working so hard to grow in those wings and a horn. Who knows?
6385911 or maybe we have to kill her so she can ascend to goddess princess of ponykind...
Quick, I need a dagger, STAT!
Just start rebuilding. Civilization stronger = Alex stronger
YEAH, Lainey/Sky differentiation!
... And is it wrong that despite that being a very sad picture, I can't help but say it looks SO FREAKING CUTE!
THE HOOVES! THEIR SO SMALL AND WITTLE!
6382769
Yeah, that's all that's left. That and a short epilogue, that is.
6383358
I once thought that. Watch a honeybee for a few minutes if you think bugs are clumsy in their flying, or a dragonfly. The only birds that can even get close to their dexterity are hummingbirds.
6383785
I'd ride that train for sure. Choo choo!
6384434
Taking a look at the direction development will take in the future now that humanity is gone is very much the subject of the third story I'd like to write. The next one, that is.
6384610
Hah! I'm glad somebody noticed.
6384623
Right on both counts. Most of the books survived unscathed.
6385233
It does seem like her life got much better. Not so much from being a pony specifically, though that's certainly a part of it.
6385247
I have no doubt we'll find out the answer to that question.
6385291
You've come, such a long long way...
6385293
I do believe in humans, I do I do!
6385302
I lived in the little town depicted in this story for some time, and made weekly trips to Champaign to avoid the sheer boredom of it. I think Sky's knowledge is much more a reflection of herself than of me. She just said she was going to a specialty store; we don't even know what that means, or how long her search really took. Not saying I know the town as well as you, though. I don't live in Illinois anymore.
I think more that it's a reflection of the pressure Sky was on. Her exposure to the real world was limited even before the event.
6385347
Writing about radio-ponies could be really interesting, particularly if it covered some period of time, and all the different news that went through on its way from different settlements.
6385639
I can't promise a happy ending for Alex, but I can promise we'll get to see things resolve before the end of the story.
6385672
Physics is out of Joseph's field (and mine, I'm in computers myself), but I'm curious (and never "trust" people in matters of science). In exactly what situation (or any situation) does light travel at different speeds in a vacuum as Joseph's believes? Oh, and I suppose it would be useful to append "from its own point of reference" to that on Joseph's behalf, since that's his obvious meaning. He clearly isn't talking about such behavior as black holes or other such gravitation distortions, since from the time-distorted perspective of the light itself its speed is unchanged, and it is rather we who view it as having slowed down.
I would of course make no change to the text, since of course it's discussing one of his beliefs and even if wrong that doesn't invalidate the fact he believes it. But given I share the scientific understanding, I would be very curious to hear of some documented experimental examples (published of course) of this phenomena occurring. I have journal memberships through my university, so the author(s) names and the name of the paper(s) would be sufficient for me to look it(them) up on my own if the results aren't available anywhere publicly. Obviously a google scholar link would be preferred, in case others in the comments here with us are similarly curious.
6385746
I didn't want to go into any actual detail with what happened to Cloudy Skies in her human childhood, but any horrible things you're imagining for her are probably correct. She's much better off now, not because she's a pony, but because she's actually having a real life. For her those two things just happened to come together though, so good luck convincing her they're not the same thing.
6385761
Yes, you're the "near" in "near-unanimous." I did not include your complaints in the near universal praise for the villain and its execution. I didn't argue with you when you pointed out your disagreements earlier, because I found them so utterly divorced from the reality I know as to make meaningful discussion impossible. (for example, I consider Heath Ledger's Joker to be near the top of my list of "worst-executed villains in fiction," and certainly at the top of my list when rated by popularity).
Rather, I considered it a difference in taste not really warranting debate, like trying to argue if chocolate or vanilla is objectively better. I don't think the Joker is objectively bad as a villain, since so much of art comes from the beholder. But I found myself utterly bored during the film, and trace my boredom entirely to his execution. I don't think any less of the (very numerous) people who enjoy that film or their tastes, yourself evidently included. We just care for different things from our fictional villains. That's fine by me.
I suppose it leaves me all the more flattered that you still made it to the end despite not caring for my choices. I'm glad you found enough enjoyment in the rest of the story despite incompatible taste in villains, and I hope you will continue to do so into book three. Having a different perspective is good. Hopefully having someone coming at the story from a different mindset will stop me from sinking into any creative ruts. I am encouraged that you were willing to be so verbal with your disagreements even against the currents of numerous people expressing opposite views. I view fanfiction as preparation for publishing in the "real-world", and love constructive criticism. Even when the criticism comes down to a matter of taste, I've still learned something about how different people perceive the fiction, and I can keep that in mind for future works.
6385882
Loved that episode, but man if it didn't summarize all my complaints with the execution of that show. I don't think I've ever seen more dishonest commercial break cliffhangers. X.x Still lots of good ideas though.
6385898
She'll either get better or die.
6385907
I think she's earned a little happiness.
6385911
Everybody seems to be expecting that!
6386266
That does seem like a patient way to fix things. Assuming Alex lives that long.
6386545
*looks at Alex in the hospital getting weaker and the above post*
Don't. You. DARE.
With Sky back, I'm not too worried about Alex's recovery. Sky is her biggest fan. if anypony can give her a boost of faith and love, it'll be her. Plus Gaia isn't going to let her avatar down. The earth loves Alex.
Sooo... I've been thinking about this whole magic thing. People are going to be coming back as all sorts of Equestrian natives. So far we've only seen people and one child. So what happens if an elderly man comes back as say, a dragon. Would he be an elderly dragon, or only a ninety year old dragon (which would practically be a child). Conversely, if he came back as a diamond dog would he be a thirteen year old dog? or dead? Or is it even stranger? I mean we haven't seen ANY elderly members of society yet. Are they all reset to the prime of their lives when they return? I mean if gender swapping is an option, I'd see no reason that age adjustment wouldn't be possible.
And then there are the cows... Now Sky's cows are getting to be pretty smart. But if someone comes back as a talking Equestrian cow... that would be a somewhat prickly situation. Clearly they would be treated as any other person. But at some point they would have to walk by the farm... Awkward! (Not quite as bad for the minotars, but similar.)
6385746
You've now put the image of an Alicorn version of Alex rising from the grave into my head.
6386836
So Zombie/lich alicorn? We have that!
Twilich Sparkle
Maybe it's just my desire for a happy ending, but I'm really tired of the trope of "hero has saved the day and seemed to come out triumphant but is now dying for some reason because feels". Especially if Alex's life force is tied to humanity's will or whatever, which, again, has had a triumph, if a small-scale one.
Whatever, at least Sky can be happy. And maybe Applejack can get Flutterbat to help with her moth problem.
6385211
Or at least insectivores.
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ooooooooooooooooooooo......crap. It's official. Alex is dead. I can't see how she'd ever spring back from this one. Yes, I know she's practically an immortal god at this point but that's dark magic she was dealing with. Who knows what that would do to her?
That's an interesting way of putting it.
It's not often you see batponies as insectivores. Hmm, I wonder what kind of recipes a society of insectivores would come up with—the insect recipes I've tried have been pretty tasty.
NOOOOOOOOoooo! Don't leave Alex in a hospital bed! Take her out into a field were she can lay on the grass. Let her be in direct contact with the Earth. Out in bright sunlight.
The first paragraph, no, the entire first part of this chapter threw me off. I thought Cloudy Skies and Blackllight would have already called and meeted up with the Philadelphia party before the ride in Alexandria began. Does that mean that Riley headed off on her own to Alexandria with Sky's knowledge without waiting to contact the rest of the founders and happen to be able to arrive at approximately the same time to Alexandria that they started the operation?
That's...strange.
Can't complain seen that things worked out but that still seems like a pretty weird coincidence to have happen.
Oh well stranger things have happened have they not?
6392984
0h, i know of a few stories where changelings think that batponies like to eat THEM!